GENERAL
Another week on and according to the most recent ‘heat maps’ of infections around the UK, the first signs seem to be emerging that the rate of infections are beginning to plateau following what seems to have been a surge emanating from the Christmas period. One can only hope that the increasingly growing majority of those who comply with the restrictions continue to do so as does the number of those who are vaccinated. This programme seems to be going well enough and the momentum is increasing fast, and I am sure that many members will already have had at least one dose of the vaccine by now. The administrative life of the Club continues as ever and we are in the midst of quite a busy period particularly in our preparations for the first Sub and General Committee meetings of the year as we welcome new Chairman Keith Redpath along with three new Committee members. There is also an enormous amount of work being conducted in preparation for end-of-year accounts and our formal audit in February. This has not been the start to the year that we had anticipated and it is likely to stay this way for a few weeks yet, however, there is a tremendous amount of planning and pencilling in of club events for later in the year. Unfortunately, we cannot declare any of these at this stage as we don’t yet know what will go ahead or under what conditions they will be conducted. Even more importantly, I cannot commit any of our precious cash resources to events where we are not guaranteed to get our money back if we have to cancel due to COVID related reasons. That said, we are confident with some of our current plans and planning is underway. More news to come later.
SUBSCRIPTIONS
On behalf of the Chairman and Committees, may I pass on our thanks for the tremendous support tendered by the membership in renewing their membership, especially via direct debit. This has very quickly given us a very accurate starting financial position for the New Year, which is even more important this year after the hiatus of last. This has been a tremendous show of faith by members in the Club itself during what has been a pretty traumatic 11 months to date and will extend a little further yet. Your membership is never taken for granted and we are grateful that so many have shown their affection and loyalty for this great club. We are really looking forward to repaying that trust in the near future. For those yet to pay please may I make a request that you do so at the earliest opportunity so that we can then move on with planning for 2021.
OFFERS OF ASSISTANCE
One of our members has asked me to canvass the broader membership in order to seek work/experience for 2 aspiring Veterinary Scientists who are presently studying at Edinburgh University and their second year. Both ladies are looking for a paid lambing job from 29th March to the 12th or 18th April (to be determined). Last year they worked seven days a week on a 1500 ewe farm in Wales where they learnt their trade! They are both hardworking, love to have fun and would want to work as a team (therefore on a single unit). If you are looking for help during this busy time and could use some experienced assistance, please contact Rob Alexander at: rwa100@hotmail.com.
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